This was revealed in a national survey conducted by the Buddhist Jogye Order. Second place went to Buddhism, followed by Protestants and Won Buddhists. Catholics also have "the most social influence."

Seoul (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Church "is the most reliable and most influential religion from the social point of view" throughout South Korea. This was the result of a national survey conducted last August 2014 by the Buddhist Jogye Order. Catholics are followed by Buddhists, Protestants and Won Buddhists. In fifth place is Islam, which according to the researchers "is paying" for the increase in violence by Muslim terrorists in the Middle East.

The survey, conducted on a pool of 1,500 residents aged 16 years and over, also reveals that Catholics have the "most influence on society": second Protestants, then Buddhists (followed by Won Buddhists) and finally Muslims. However, the question of which religion has contributed most to the development of the country, the majority of respondents (31.7%) responded "none".

Approximately 30% indicated Buddhism, while Protestants received 20.1% of the votes and Catholics 15.8%.

The last question concerns inter-religious clashes. According to 59.2% of the respondents, Protestants "are the cause of most of the feuds between religions"; Buddhists and Catholics come to 15.9% to 7.9%.

Religious affiliation is a much debated topic in the country, with more than 50 million inhabitants. According to the latest official data available - that is, those of the census of 2005 - half of the population is "non-believer / non-practicing." The remaining 25 million are divided into: Buddhist (43%, or nearly 11 million members); Protestant Christians (34.5%, or 8.6 million members); Catholics (20.9%, or 5.4 million faithful).

 

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